A collection of reviews of films from off the beaten path; a travel guide for those who love the cinematic world and want more than the mainstream releases.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Nightcap 9/6/15 Speaking the truth, the Pratchett mess, and just who is this Randi person and why is she giving us links anyway?

Because I couldn't come up with a picture for tonight here's Bully and his Pal Shelly having donuts

Two quick things this week.

As you can see the Jackie Chan interview I was hoping for never happened. I’m guessing the people handling Chan thought Unseen was too small. Never mind we’ve done Donnie Yen twice.

The conspiratorial side of me is thinking it’s because I’ve bitched that DRAGON BLADE was chopped down. I told the PR people right after the press screening that I wasn’t happy about that. Part of me wants to blame the interview not happening on that. I know that’s not the case but I suspect sometimes my mouth gets me into trouble.

About 95% of the time I pretty much say what I feel about a movie good bad or indifferent. I know my big mouth horrifies a lot of people at press screenings, but I don’t really care. Its what I think and what I feel. I do dial things back occasionally, but mostly what you read is what I feel. I don’t really try and couch my words to get favors.

I say what I feel. I know sometimes that makes me sound like a lunatic and uncouth, but fuck it, its how I feel and Unseen is about the passion felt for films. It is not a deeply analytical examination of what they do. Yes we do that sometimes but mostly its reporting from the gut which means I try to be honest. If that means I go fan boy (as you’ll hear in my interview with the Quays) so be it. If that means I shread a film I hate (say in the review you may never see for the INVITATION) so be that too.

I speak from the heart or the gut and its how I feel and if my opinion changes I’ll tell you that too.

I’ll always try to speak the truth because it’s the truth as I see it. I will not curry favor, as some bigger outlets do. If that means I stay where I am so be it. At least I can live with myself.
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One of the British papers ran a piece where their book critic and resident nimrod dismissed Terry Pratchett as a writer not worthy of merit without having read anything he wrote.

Let me say that again a critic dismissed the work of a major literary figure without ever having read any of his works.

As we all know the Internet is full of people doing that on a regular basis, but those are people who are living in their parents basements and haven’t seen day light in decades, however in the current situation we have a man who is supposed to be reading books and forming opinions based on what he’s read. One would think he’s getting out regularly. But apparently not.

I would like to think it’s simply a ploy on his part to get attention (the only wat to get noticed is to be controversial), but part of me suspects that this nimrod has decided that actually reading a book is eating too much of his time so he’s going to start not reading them. He's probably walked into his bosses office and told him he’s now going to write reviews of things he hasn’t read- this way he can write a years worth of reviews and take the back end of the year off and go on holiday.

I’m kidding- kind of.

The jerks are going to do what they do, what troubles me is that his bosses allowed him to do this. Yea its going to get attention, but at the same time how can you ever trust him or the paper again? He’s shot himself I the foot because why would I read a man who will happily make pronouncements with no information. This isn’t internet trolls or presidential candidates this is a respected publication.

My fear is if the paper allowed this what else will they allow?

I'm guessing they will be making up the news based on their feelings instead of facts

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A passing note about the links and the ever elusive Randi who is listed every week as the mistress of them.

As any of you long time reader will know Randi’s name appears in the list of contributors but never seems to actually post anything. That’s because she is Unseen’s chief researcher, occasional editor and keeper of the "sanity button". She’s the one I call when I need to find something that eludes me (what exactly is the spelling of the names the Quays said to me? She found them) . She’s the one who will occasionally call me up screaming “YOU CAN’T POST THAT!” when a draft review has gone too far. She is my confessor, confidant and best friend.

She also frequently sends me links- links on everything. I do the same thing- we trade links as if they were pins. Every week I cull the best of what she (and occasionally other people) have sent me and mix it with some of what I’ve found and post it. Randi lists as the mistress because when I started doing this most, if not all of the links are hers. That’s still the case, though occasionally, say last week, she had very little input. I say that because she tweeted to ponder what she had to do with the links. Inspiration.

Randi inspires me in links and in general. When you get the chance to meet her I think she'll inspire you too.

And John chimes in with links from BBC Radio
Dickie Attenborough: A Life in Film
Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins, David Puttnam, William Goldberg and the late John Mills all join in celebrating Attenborough's skill as a director of actors, his stamina and his huge commitment to the British film industry. A year on from his death, Susan Marling (who met and recorded with Attenborough before he died) asks what his legacy has been.http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b066gfbw

The Lumiere Brothers in 1895
In 1895, the year the Proms began, the pioneering Lumière brothers developed their Cinématographe, the world's first film camera, and showed their footage in public screenings. The film historian Ian Christie discusses the year that the art of film was born with New Generation Thinker Will Abberley.http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b066zjm5

Sound of Cinema: Hammer
Featuring horror scores by composers James Bernard, Tristram Cary, and Benjamin Frankel, as well as music from Hammer's highly successful comedy films and only space western...http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b067x53g